This is the final post of our Angels and Demons blog series. I hope you have enjoyed reading these as much as I have enjoyed writing them. It is incredible to really dive into the battle in which we are engaged. And just a bit overwhelming. The battle is real, the enemy is powerful and evil, and the war is won!

Today, we’ll conclude the series by looking at the role angels played in the most significant event in history. We’ve already seen that angels are messengers from God. They bring news and instruction to His people. This was never more true than on the morning of the resurrection. Here we find two followers of Jesus going to the tomb where His body had been laid three days earlier.

Suddenly there was a violent earthquake, because an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and approached the tomb. He rolled back the stone and was sitting on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his robe was as white as snow. The guards were so shaken from fear of him that they became like dead men. But the angel told the women, "Don't be afraid, because I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here! For He has been resurrected, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay. (Matthew 28:2-6)

What a privilege for this angel to be the first to proclaim, “He is not here! He is risen from the dead.” No greater news has ever been proclaimed by a herald. It is important to note that when the stone was rolled away Jesus was already gone. He overcame death. The angel didn’t come to let Jesus out, but to let them in. In John’s account, we see another message from the angels to Mary Magdalene.

She saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet, where Jesus' body had been lying. They said to her, "Woman, why are you crying?" (John 20:12-13)

This is a great picture, and one that would have been very familiar to the Jewish people. Two angels sat where Jesus had been, one at the foot and one at the head. When God instructed the Israelites to construct the Ark of the Covenant, He had them place an angel at each end of the cover with their wings spread over what was called the mercy seat. The presence of God would then appear in a cloud above the mercy seat, between the angels. Surely when God gave this instruction, He looked out across time to see His Son lying between the wings of these angels, the culmination of His appearance to and provision for humanity. When Mary arrived only the angels remained. Christ had overcome death!

The battle which we now wage on His behalf isn’t waged to bring about victory. The victory is already won. Rather, we fight to make Him known, to increase His glory, to remove blindness, and to see His kingdom evidenced on earth. In His name, even the demons will submit. (Luke 10:17)

Thank you for joining me on this blog journey through the unseen realm.

Today’s Scripture Reading: Lev. 23:9-14; Matt. 28:1-10; 1 Cor. 15:20-28 “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”Where do I start today? There is so much that could be said. But I am going to focus primarily on the Feast of Firstfruits. If you're anything like me this is probably something you haven’t heard much about. However, the significance of the timing of this festival is incredible. God told Moses to tell the Israelites that when they entered the Promised Land and harvested their crops, they were to celebrate by bringing the firstfruits to the priest. He would then wave the sheaf before the Lord to be accepted on their behalf. This was done after the Sabbath during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It is important to note that this was not after the High Sabbath but rather the weekly Sabbath. Thus this was always done on the first day of the week. Now we have the women, including Mary Magdalene and others, coming to the tomb on the first day of the week, and finding the tomb empty. Christ was risen, the first of the harvest of those who have fallen asleep. Christ was the firstfruits just as 1 Corinthians 15:20 tells us. Just as we were made dead to sin in Christ, so we were made alive in Christ. This was a day of triumph. Throughout scripture, God continually used this time of the year to demonstrate a renewed hope for His people. This was true for the nation of Israel, and now it is true for all who trust in Him as their source of Salvation. Questions for Reflection:

Do you face issues in your life that seem impossible to overcome?

Are you willing to trust in the power and love of Jesus who overcame death itself to be our Firstfruits?

Finally, are you willing to proclaim the hope you have in Him?

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Thank you for joining me for an in-depth look at how the Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the Feast of Firstfruits all pointed to the perfect sacrifice offered by Jesus on the cross. I hope you found it both enjoyable and life-changing.Check back often for updates on my adventures in publishing my book, as well as writing and editing the next one, not to mention all the other fun adventures that may come along.HE IS RISEN!!!

Today’s Scripture Reading: Ex. 12:7-20, 13:3-10; Romans 6:1-23 "The Festival of Unleavened Bread to the Lord is on the fifteenth day of the same month. For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day you are to hold a sacred assembly; you are not to do any daily work." (Leviticus 23:6-7) Today I want to look at two things. First, as we see above the 15th of the month of Nisan, the day after the Passover, was to be treated as a special day, in which no work was to be done. This would have been referred to as a High Sabbath, or Special Sabbath depending on your translation. We saw yesterday in our reading, in John 19:31, that John said the bodies on the cross should not be left there during the Sabbath. John notes that this Sabbath was a high, or special, day. Many people assume, as do some translations, that because Jesus needed to be taken off the cross before the Sabbath, that the crucifixion had to have taken place on Friday, the day before the weekly Sabbath. However, when you study the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, you see that the day after Passover was always a Sabbath, regardless of the day of the week. It was a High Sabbath. Each year, this High Sabbath fell on a different day of the week. Much the way, our 4th of July celebration falls on a different day each year. While it is possible that Jesus was crucified on Friday as tradition holds, what is known for certain is that Jesus would have been placed in the tomb by 6:00 p.m. at the end of the 14th of Nisan to avoid this High Sabbath. As I've said before, the day of the week isn't important. The fact that Jesus was the perfect Passover sacrifice, that is what is important.The second thing I wanted to look at today is the significance of the celebration of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. We saw in today’s reading that this celebration was in recognition of God delivering Israel from slavery in Egypt. This was the first day the Israelites were free from slavery to the Egyptians. Likewise, the 15th of Nisan was also the first day after Jesus’ death on the cross. Therefore, for a world in bondage to sin and death, it was the first day of freedom from this slavery.It is important to remember however, that God did not immediately bring the Israelites into the Promised Land. He first led them into the wilderness. This time provided a period of testing and trials for the nation. Often, the Israelites responded in disobedience and a desire to return to the slavery out of which they had been delivered. It wasn’t until this rebellion was removed from the nation that they were brought into the Promised Land. Likewise, God does not immediately deliver us from this world, but rather He uses our time here to sanctify and prepare us for eternity.

Questions for Reflection:

Do you ever find yourself drawn back to the slavery of sin from which you have been delivered?

Take some time to pray and ask God to forgive your impatience and unwillingness to live as the new creation he has made you.

Today’s Scripture Reading: Ex. 12:43-47; Mark 15:15-31; John 19:28-37 "For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us." (1 Corinthians 5:7b)The Lamb had now been inspected and found to be without blemish. It was the Jewish custom that at 9:00 a.m. the lamb would be led by the priest into the temple and put on display. Notice in Mark 15:25 that at the third hour, which was at 9:00 a.m. Jesus was put on the cross. Then according to Ex. 12:6 the lamb was to be killed at “twilight.” This could also be translated as “in the middle of the evening.” The evening started at Noon and went until sundown, or 6:00 p.m. Thus the middle of the evening would have been at 3:00 p.m. This is when the High Priest would have killed the Passover lamb. Again we see from Mark 15:34 that it was at the ninth hour, or 3:00 p.m. when Jesus said His final words on the cross. After making the declaration “It is finished,” Jesus gave up His spirit. Incredibly, it was Jewish tradition that after the High Priest killed the lamb he would make the declaration “It is finished.” Even in death Jesus completely fulfilled the requirements for the perfect Passover sacrifice. We find in John 19:33 that because Jesus was already dead when the guards came to break the legs of those who were on the crosses, they did not break his legs but rather pierced His side with a spear to confirm He was dead. We are told in John 19:36-37 that this fulfilled the requirements. What requirements? That the bones of the Passover lamb were not to be broken. God made sure there would be no doubt that Jesus was the complete and acceptable sacrifice for all of us. Jesus tells us that His blood was shed for many in Mark 14:24. This includes you and me. Isaiah 53:5 tells us that “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.” Jesus knew the price He would have to pay so that we could be healed. This verse points out that it was not simply His death that healed us, and provided our perfect peace, but also His stripes, His wounds, and His bruises. The beatings, and all the blood shed was for us. The sacrifices of lambs and bulls could only cover up the stain of sin. However, Jesus blood washed away the stains once and for all. “What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun! All this newness of life is from God, who brought us back to himself through what Christ did. And God has given us the task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. This is the wonderful message he has given us to tell others. We are Christ’s ambassadors, and God is using us to speak to you. We urge you, as though Christ himself were here pleading with you, “Be reconciled to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” (2 Corinthians 5:17-21, NLT) Questions for Reflection

Have you ever accepted the complete and perfect sacrifice He made in your place?

If you have, are you living your life as if your sin needs to be covered by your attempts at sacrifice, or knowing that your sin has been removed and you have been made new by His perfect sacrifice?

Today’s Scripture Reading: Lev. 23:1-5; Luke 7-22“This is My body which is given for you ... This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.”At this point, it gets more complicated to avoid talking about specific days of the week. There were two traditions in Jesus' day for keeping the Passover one took place on the 14th of Nisan, the other took place on the 15th. Another complication in talking through what-happened-when is that the Jewish day started at sundown, not at midnight as we are accustomed. Therefore, it is quite possible that Jesus both partook of the Passover with his disciples and was crucified on the same day. (Which we would view as two different days.) So it would be wise to view today's post and tomorrow's as Part 1 and Part 2. Let’s take a look at how this day started. Matt. 26:20 tells us that when evening had come Jesus sat down with His disciples to share the Passover meal together. Just a note for clarification, this reference to “in the evening” could also have been translated “as the evening was completed.” Anyway, Jesus makes the statements that most of us are familiar with, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” (Luke 22:19b) referring to the bread, and “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.” (Luke 22:20b) referring to the cup. Given the way in which Jesus so perfectly and completely fulfilled all of the requirements of the Passover, I believe that He was not only referring to the bread and the cup, but also to His coming fulfillment of the Passover later that day. Most likely when Jesus said, “do this in remembrance of me,” He would have been referring to the celebration of the Passover as a whole, not simply the breaking of bread. We will see later how the Passover was connected to the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Jesus’ reference to the bread of which they were partaking has much more significance when viewed in light of the festival that was about to begin. Questions for Reflection

If God is all knowing, do you think it is more likely that He perfectly orchestrated the events of Christ's Passion Week to align with all the Old Testament events, or that the events God previously prescribed were forward looking to this single pivotal event in history?

Given that God's plans and ways are perfect, are you willing to trust Him enough to take control of your life?

Today’s Scripture Reading: Exodus 12:1-6; Mark 12:13-34; Luke 22:66-23:14 “Your lamb shall be without blemish,”Here we see that the requirement for the Passover lamb was that it be without blemish. They would select the lamb on the 10th of Nisan and keep it under watch until the 14th of Nisan. This gave them time to inspect and observe it for any type of blemish. As we saw Sunday, Jesus was led into Jerusalem on the 10th of Nisan. So what was happening between the 10th and the 14th. Amazingly enough, He was being inspected. Look at the words used to describe the discussions Jesus had with the various religious leaders during this time period. “The chief priest and the elders … confronted Him” (Matt. 21:23) “The Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him …” (Mark 12:13) “Some Sadducees, … asked Him” (Mark 12:18) “One of the scribes … asked Him” (Mark 12:28) Were all of these religious leaders coming to Jesus to learn from Him? No, they were trying to find fault with Him. They wanted to find a reason to kill Him. Ironically, it was the fact that they couldn’t find fault with Him, thus He was without blemish, that made Him the perfect sacrifice. Beyond these indirect methods of questioning we also see that on the 14th Jesus was actually put on trial to find a reason to kill Him. The inability of the Jewish leaders to produce two or three witnesses that could agree meant that, according to Deut. 17:6, He could not be put to death under Jewish law. However, that didn’t stop them from taking Him to Pilate, and then to Herod, and back to Pilate to get Him condemned. The final declaration of His being without blemish is found in Pilate’s summary statement in Luke 23:14, “I have found no fault in this Man.” Jesus was the Lamb without blemish. Questions for Reflection

Are you without blemish, do you have sin in your life?

If someone was to spend 4 days inspecting everything you did, would you want them to make public the records?

God tells us in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned.” This is why we needed someone who was sinless to take our place.

Today’s Scripture Reading: Matt. 7:15-23; Mark 11:12-14,20-24 "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."Today we find Jesus and the disciples again walking from Bethany to Jerusalem. On their way they come across the fig tree that the day prior Jesus had cursed for not having any fruit. The tree is now withered and dried up from the roots. What was so significant about this tree? Why would Jesus have cursed it in the first place? The Fig Tree:It is important to first understand that a fig tree, prior to being in full leaf, should have had fruit from the prior year’s growth. Thus this particular tree would have appeared to have fruit but didn’t. I believe that Jesus was communicating a message about those who put on a show of spirituality but never produce fruit. As we saw in Matthew 7, Jesus is very clear about the consequences of fruitlessness. It is also interesting to note that throughout the Bible the fig tree is used to represent the nation of Israel and its leaders, such as in Hosea 9 or Jeremiah 24. Not too long prior to this Jesus had shared the parable found in Luke 13:6-9, about the owner of a vineyard who planted a fig tree and for three years it had not produced fruit. He threatened to cut it down. Likewise, Jesus’ public ministry had been for a period of three years and the leaders of Israel had still refused to be fruitful. Only 40 years after this the nation of Israel was scattered, and the temple was destroyed. They had failed to bear fruit. Now unless you would be tempted to write off the nation of Israel it is important to notice the prophetic words of Jesus in Mark 13:28-31 indicating the reappearance of the fig tree before the end. So the question needs to be asked, what does it mean to bear spiritual fruit? Bearing fruit is a matter of the heart, here are some areas to examine for fruitfulness:

Your words - “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matt. 12:34b)

Your treasures - “For where your treasure is there your heart will be also.” (Matt. 6:21)

Your attitude - "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law." (Gal. 5:22-23)

Question for Reflection

Looking at these three areas of your life, are you bearing spiritual fruit?

Today’s Scripture Reading: Deut. 16:1-8; Mark 11:15-19 “On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses.” (Ex. 12:15a)As we saw yesterday in Exodus 12, and again today in Deuteronomy 16, it was declared by God that each household in Israel was to rid itself of any leaven within the house. This was ceremonially completed on Nisan 15, or the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. So you might be asking, how does this relate to the passage of Christ entering the temple in Mark 11? Well, most of the time when leaven, or yeast depending on your translation, is referenced in the Bible it is a symbol of sin. So let’s take a closer look. Leaven:What are some of the properties of leaven? First, leaven grows or multiplies. If you’ve ever had the opportunity to make bread from scratch, you know that you can keep a batch of yeast around almost indefinitely. As long as you don’t use up the entire batch it will continue to multiply so that you never run out. This can also be observed with sin. Sin has a way of multiplying. Tell a lie and it will inevitably lead to another, and another, and another. You get the picture. Second, leaven permeates an entire batch of dough with great ease and speeds up the rate at which it will spoil. Likewise, sin in one area of your life will eventually, and usually quite quickly, find it’s way into other areas of your life. A little sin will spoil an otherwise spotless life. God doesn’t set a limit on the amount of sin allowed because He knows that any sin affects the entire person. Finally, leaven puffs up. The whole point of using leaven when cooking is to cause the dough to rise, or become puffed up. This is symbolic of the original sin of pride. Isaiah 14:12-15 describes how Satan was cast out of Heaven for his pride. At Passover, God required that each house be cleansed of any leaven, which represented sin. The money changers in the temple were cheating people who came with a sincere desire to worship God. This practice was despised by God, and even predicted and condemned in Jeremiah 7:11. Thus in Mark 11 we have Jesus entering the temple, His Father’s house, and removing the sin.Questions for Reflection

Do you have any sin that will permeate your life?

Ask God to reveal to you the sin that He sees in your life.

Remember, you are the Lord’s temple, if you ask Him to He will help you cleanse your life just like He cleansed His temple in Jerusalem!

In light of today being Palm Sunday and this being the week to remember Jesus' sacrifice for us, I thought I'd repost some thoughts that I shared last year. These devotional-type posts reflect on the significance of the events that occurred on this week some two-thousand years ago in the form of daily devotionals. I'd like to encourage you to read the passages that are listed to gain a broader understanding of the many events that you and I often take for granted. While there is special significance in looking at the actual dates called out for these events, it can also lead to confusion and distraction from the more significant meaning of the events. In other words, the what is more important than the when. Therefore, I'm going to avoid as much as possible dwelling on the specific dates. Just know that they ultimately line up so well that it is clear that throughout the Old Testament, God is setting up the one week that forever changed history. Hope you enjoy these posts.

Today’s Scripture Reading: Exodus 12:1-24; Mark 11:1-11“on the tenth day of this month each family must choose a lamb”God’s Word, in the Torah, states that the lamb would be selected on the 10th of Nisan. Jewish tradition had added the custom of the High Priest going out to Bethany on this day to select the lamb that was to be sacrificed. He would then bring it into Jerusalem and into the temple. ﻿Take a moment to reflect on the significance of Mark 11:11.

Why would Jesus go into the temple to simply look around and then leave?

Could it be because He was the Lamb of God (John 1:29) who had been selected by God to be the Passover Sacrifice? ﻿

This is the picture the people of Israel should have had in their mind as Jesus came into Jerusalem from Bethany. The jubilant reception Jesus received from the crowds, the cries of “Hosanna”, indicate that they were aware that something of significance was happening. Some would even make the claim that prophecies such as Daniel’s 70 weeks in Daniel 9 can be seen to predict, to the day, this return of the Messiah.However, the crowd did not consider the implication of Christ’s coming as the fulfillment of the Passover. Why was the lamb led into the temple? So that four days later it could be sacrificed. Instead the crowds cried “Hosanna” which literally meant “Save us now!” They wanted deliverance from Rome, but God intended deliverance from sin, the fulfillment of the Passover Sacrifice. Many did not want to accept God’s answer, or His timing. Four days later the crowd can be seen crying "crucify Him." Questions for Reflection:

How do you respond to God’s answers of your requests?

Are you willing to accept His provision of your spiritual needs as more important than the satisfaction of your physical wants?

I've been a husband for 28 years and am the father of five children, three boys and two girls, ages 24 and under.

My vocational years have been an eclectic mix of software developer, electrical and manufacturing engineer, manager, and even five years as a worship pastor. So, I guess it only stands to reason that my aspirations as an author are equally unique. As an author it is my desire to challenge one's mind with what ifs, one's heart with if only, and one's sense of justice with if not me.